European arts cuts: Rome's Maxxi maxes out the ministerial funding

When the Maxxi opened in Rome in 2010 it aspired to become a hub for 21st-century artists. The management of the imposing museum - designed by the Anglo-Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid - was replaced with a commissioner appointed by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities, due to an €11m (£8.6m) budget projection deficit. Former director Pio Baldi blamed the progressive reduction in ministerial funding. Public funding was cut from €7m in 2010 to €2m by 2012. The ministerial commissioner Antonia Pasqua Recchia said the initial funds earmarked for the museum were to be considered "extraordinary" as their purpose was to give an initial push to the institution. From 2012, the foundation was intended to rely on ordinary funding. The previous management blamed the ministry for mismanaging resources and setting the self-funding bar too high.